Legal Insights – Q2 2024

• Overall vacancy numbers remain low. Q2 has seen some pockets of activity but by historical standards there has been heavily reduced demand.
• Corporate/Commercial roles have been busier than banking and finance but the capital raising environment has severely impacted M&A and PE hiring.
• Senior level roles remain subdued. There are more new GC/Head of legal roles for smaller firms making their first hire than for established teams. This impacts teams below as the lack of movement at the top means upward mobility below is impacted.
• Candidate salary expectations have remained steady despite recent announcements over increased NQ pay in private practice. There has been no real growth in this last quarter as budgets are already stretched
• Movement from private practice to in house has seen a little more interest in moving at 2PQE or earlier than we saw previously. Despite the salary hit people are prioritising mental wellbeing and work life balance
• Salary differences between junior and senior staff remain a problem. Most teams have to decide between paying a premium for junior staff who have some runway for development or hire more experienced lawyers who may want a senior leadership role when none are available.
• Additional headcount in In-House legal teams continues to be difficult to secure. Most find themselves in competition with areas like Risk & Compliance for budget

Tom Boulderstone

Head of Legal & Co-Sec Divisions
tgb@barclaysimpson.com
020 7936 8943

Please reach out if you would like advice on hiring in the legal or Co-Sec markets.
Barclay Simpson has 20 years’ experience of hiring into this space and we can offer deep insight into how the market is changing and how to secure the best candidates.